While the NCAA champion UConn Huskies lost junior wing DeAndre Daniels to the 2014 NBA Draft on Friday, they did retain an important piece as the school announced via Twitter that junior guard Ryan Boatright would return for his senior season.

#UConn: DeAndre Daniels opts for the NBA Draft, but guard Ryan Boatright will return to the Huskies for his senior season.

The 6-foot Boatright averaged 12.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists in an up-and-down junior season for Kevin Ollie’s Huskies. Boatright stepped up his play in the NCAA Tournament, however, and is a much-improved defender on the perimeter as well. Boatright averaged 1.6 steals a game last season.

The junior shot 39 percent from the field, 37 percent from three-point range and 79 percent from the charity stripe. Ollie will likely have Boatright run point next season and put him alongside North Carolina State transfer and former McDonald’s All-American Rodney Purvis, or give freshman guard Terrence Samuel more minutes after some solid stretches of play during the season.